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24 hours ago, Leeds United were falling apart and blowing the title race. Now, they’re back on top of the Championship table after a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.
With one win in six before last night’s clash at the Riverside, the wheels looked to be well and truly coming off for Leeds United.
A Dan James masterclass was enough to get Leeds over the line on the night, though, with his goal in the second minute proving the difference despite both teams having an abundance of opportunities, and the ball actually being in the net another three times.
Daniel Farke’s men are now back to the top of the league after results went their way elsewhere, and with five games to go, the Championship title race could yet swing their way come the end of the season.
Daniel Farke proud of Leeds United clean sheet
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game last night, Farke was full of praise for his players for getting the result they needed, and insisted one particular factor was fundamental to his team reviving their title hopes.
He said: “It was a big relief, it was crucial to get a clean sheet, we’ve conceded a few lately… we came up against a very good side, they had plenty of chances but we held out.
“We had our chances too, we looked dangerous. It was a tough away game, with some difficult decisions against us… but I’m very proud of the players.”
That’s the first clean sheet Leeds have kept since March 12, against Millwall, and only their second since February 11. As we’ve seen with Burnley, a strong backline can be the perfect foundation for success, and Leeds will now need to build on that moving forward.
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Leeds United should have had three goals on the night, too
In truth, the night should have been a lot more comfortable for Leeds, with the Whites having two perfectly good goals disallowed for offside.
Upon further inspection, they were the wrong decisions made by the linesman. Incredibly, the first decision to rule out an Ao Tanaka tap-in was made by an assistant referee who has now got it wrong on three occasions for Leeds this season.
Later, Patrick Bamford was introduced to the game, and almost immediately made a big impact, slotting home after a slick Leeds counter-attack. His effort was adjudged to be offside, too, which was again the wrong call.
Leeds fans claim the team have had no luck this season, especially compared to their promotion rivals, and it’s hard to argue with that after the way things went on Tuesday night.
Still, they got the win and the three points in the end, and thankfully, those controversial decisions didn’t cost them anything in the long run — aside from a boost in their goal difference.